Irritable Bowel Syndrome

[Guest poppins]

My sister suffered for years with ALL THE ABOVE, she finely had to have her gall bladder removed, only been a month now and feels much better, but not fully.

[lizzmobile]

I too had IBS until I went on holiday to France for 2 weeks. I didn't notice it had stopped until it started again, right after I had a cup of tea. I had been drinking tea, with milk and honey as I usually dis throughout the holiday, and the only thing different was that whilst we were camping, we used bottled water. I started to filter our tap water and have never been troubled with IBS since.

 

I asked the local water authority for a detailed analysis of our tap water and it made very interesting reading. It's worth sending for one, simply out of interest. They are free.

[KookyKoo]

I too suffer constantly with IBS, have done for 6 years now. The most helpful things I have found are hypnotherapy and silica gel. The pepperminty remedies did nothing for me. I had a food intolerance test which suggested that dairy foods, alcohol, sugar and sweetcorn were my main triggers. My gastroenterologist (the aptly named Dr Ramage) recommended I steer clear as well of chocolate, nuts, crisps, donuts, caffeine and fried food (well there's my entire list of fave things gone).

 

I would definitely recommend trying hypnotherapy to anyone who's at the end of their tether, I got tape recordings of all my sessions so I can listen to them at home. Silica gel is available at Holland and Barrett, I just mix a spoonful into a glass of orange juice.

[mini]

both myself and my partner suffer from IBS and we both have the same trigger foods which is a weird coincidence, they are bread and anything containing wheat. If you take a peek at the labels on many foods lots contain wheatflour and it is really hard to avoid it all the time, we can however manage very small amounts about twice a week but it`s really very inconvenient at times.

[clinicone]

Hi all,

 

We have a hypnotherapist who specialises in IBS.

 

His name is Neil Roberts. You can contact him on 0114 236 4141 or look at the website.

 

http://www.clinicone.co.uk

 

He will happily chat to you first and give a free consultation.

 

Hope it helps!

[medusa]

Hi

 

Having been a medical rep promoting IBS treatments for a number of years I can answer any pharmacological questions that you may get.

 

There are a number of drug treatments available for IBS, most of which are smooth muscle relaxants. This includes peppermint oil, which has been shown in clinical studies to relax the griping and bloated feelings that IBS sufferers report, but only in very high concentrations (which is why the capsules have an enteric coating- the higher quantities of peppermint oil can cause stomach irritation).

 

Amongst the other treatments available are mebeverine (Colofac) and hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan). I promoted Colofac, and also took it as a patient for some time and had good responses.

 

My IBS symptoms disappeared when I gave up cow's milk, and so did most of my eczema patches. I have since reintroduced small infrequent amounts (as it's really difficult to exclude completely) and haven't had a recurrence of the IBS, although the eczema has reappeared.

 

I think that your SO is going to need to have a significant period of learning and understanding about his IBS type symptoms. I wish both him and you luck in finding the triggers for his sickness soon.

[Yellowrose]

I think there are different causes for different people. Dairy products cause me to double up in pain and have lots of diarrhoea. Cutting wheat out helped, but I couldnt cope with the awful gluten free bread. Leaving out caffeine was definitely helpful. Peppermint tea makes a therapeutic replacement.

 

My IBS is worse with stress, and I know this is the case for many people.

 

I have tried many drugs and they work for a short period of time then their effectiveness decreases and declines. I have seen a gastroenterologist to exclude coeliac disease. He has referred me to a dietician because he thinks a low fibre diet might be useful for me. When I was first diagnosed 20 odd years ago a high fibre diet was suggested, but if I adopt that now I have to live on the toilet! I have also had herbal medicine from a Registered Medical Herbalist. Once again, it worked for a few months then stopped!

 

So as far as your s/o is concerned, it could be diet, could be stress, could have started after a tummy bug. I suggest she/he try any remedy her gp offers, and when it stops working ask for an alternative.

 

Good luck!

[weenireeni]

ive dragged this thread up as i think i might have IBS! i went to the dr the other week as i had unbearable pains in my right hand side, he said if it got worse it was appendicitis, but it stayed at a constant.

 

my stomach is always cramping/sore, i vary from diarrhoea to constipation and just generally dont feel well! i think ive had this since last winter - ive had soooo many days off work with what i thought were sickness bugs, even though i dont normally get ill. ive read the suggestions re: stress, maybe its a result of changing job and moving house/cities?

 

i dont want to go to the dr again and look a hypochondriac! is there any way i can 'diagnose' myself? ive had a quick look on website and it seems theres diff types of medication, would i actually need them or should i try cutting out differnt foods before going to dr?

 

any advice appreciated!!

[nick2]

The SO is now taking Yakult every morning and is considerably better, I'd recommend anyone to give it a try for a month.

[*Twinkle*]

I've found that red onion seems to set me off.... and I LOVE red onion!

Oh and lager... nasty stuff... bloats me up terribly, almost so my trousers wont fit!

 

Mine's much better now... I tend to stick to plain food and watch what I'm eating... IE I'll have a piece of fish for tea with steamed veg... and then I'll be fine